The UK National Economic Crime Centre warned in its annual report that criminals are using crypto assets in “new ways” to evade detection and move illicit funds at scale. The report said money laundering networks now operate across borders, moving funds through legitimate and illicit systems simultaneously. Crypto assets ranked third among nine economic crime priorities, above cash and money laundering intermediaries. The NECC said it is developing “a more proactive, intelligence-led capability to tackle crypto crime,” shifting from reactive responses toward proactively generating enforcement targets.